


Sweets in the Stacks

by LastofMe



Category: RWBY
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Blood and Violence, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Peril
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21607726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastofMe/pseuds/LastofMe
Summary: Coffee Shop/Bookstore AU!  Blake's quiet bookstore shares a wall with a noisy coffee shop.  Blake is perfectly content to ignore them as best she can until she meets Yang the owner/barista.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 38
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work in progress was getting too long for a one shot, so let's turn it into chapters! I don't know how long this will take to finish, but we can find out together!

It was the loudest in the romance section. Blake gritted her teeth as she shelved the books and the grinding vibrated the shelves. After three blissfully silent years, her landlord had rented the other half of the building to a coffee shop. A coffee shop that insisted on grinding their own beans. In a room that shared a wall with her used book store.

Blake finished her shelving and stalked back up to the cashier’s counter where her lone employee Weiss was sorting a box of books they had picked up at an estate sale.

“Plenty of history and a bunch of older novels,” Weiss tossed her ponytail back at the sound of her boss. “And those are all vintage fashion magazines,” she pointed at a small box on the floor, “Coco will probably take them for her collection,” she looked up at her boss, “What’s wrong Blake?”

“Those idiots next door are making a racket again.” Blake snarled.

“C’mon Blake. You barely know them. Your main point of contact with them has been notes slid under the door.”

“People come here because they like the peace and quiet.”

“And they go there because the espresso is strong and the cookies are the size of your face,” Weiss took a sip from her coffee mug nonchalantly.

Blake’s eyes narrowed, “You’re kidding me.”

“There’s a substantial discount for bringing your own mug and I’m two punches away from my free cookie.”

“Gahh!” Blake threw up her hands as she walked away.

“Blake, you’re being ridiculous…”

The shop bell broke Weiss’s train of thought. “Welcome to Shadowcat Books! I’m Wei.. Oh! Hi Yang! What brings you over here?”

“Hey Weiss!” Yang breezed into the store and placed a little espresso cup on the counter, “I got some new beans in and I needed someone else to taste them for me. I’d ask Ruby, but she has to go to bed in a couple hours. So I figured my favorite neighbor was up to the task!”

Weiss ignored the shifting sound coming from the direction of history as she downed the shot. “Oh wow! That’s very strong! It’s really tasty too!”

“Thanks! I’m going to put it in a new drink that I think I’ll call the Armed and Ready, but I haven’t decided,” Yang leaned into the counter and whispered, “Is your boss ok? She seems a little avoidant.” She raised her eyebrows in the direction of history.

“Honestly, this is extreme even for her,” Weiss whispered back before calling out, “Blake, please come say hello to Yang. She’s your neighbor and she’s not going to bite you.”

The shifting grew louder until it became a crashing down. Weiss started to stand, but Yang stopped her. “It’s my fault; I’ll go help her."

Blake was two rows back, frantically trying to pick up a pile of heavy biographies.

“Can I help you?” they said in unison. Blake looked up into a pair of deep, violet eyes on a face framed by a halo of blonde waves and the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Yang looked down into flushed cheeks, amber eyes and the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

_Fuck._

Yang squatted down and passed Blake a book. “I’m sorry I scared you. I have been trying to come over and say hi, but as I’m certain you know, having a business can kind of take over your life.” Blake kept stacking up books silently, so Yang continued. “I am sorry that my equipment is so noisy. I hope my sister doesn’t bother you much in the mornings. I know she wakes me up sometimes.”

Blake paused mid-shelving, “You live over the shop too? I was wondering what that banging was sometimes.”

“Yeah Ruby gets really into it when she’s baking. But it lets me sleep in a little bit before the rush and it’s nice just walking down the stairs to a café that’s ready to go.”

The shop bell tinkled again. “Hi Weiss, have you seen my sister? The espresso machine was on but I couldn’t find her.”

Yang smiled at the voice and straightened up, “And now you can meet my sister Ruby! She’s a sweetheart; you’ll love her.” She reached her hand out to help Blake up. Blake’s hand was tiny and soft to Yang who was suddenly aware how rough handling burlap bags of beans had made her hands. She led Blake back towards the counter.

Ruby had a floral patterned smock liberally dotted with flour and chocolate and Weiss was munching on one of the cookies on the platter Ruby had brought with her. Ruby’s eyes sparkled as she saw her sister approach the counter and handed her a cookie.

“Here! I think I finally fixed the butter problem!”

Yang took a big bite and closed her eyes in pleasure. “Mmmm, I think you did!” She pushed the rest of the cookie into her mouth and reached out for another one.

Blake was still panicking over the fact that Yang was holding her hand and as she worked up the courage to say something there was a burst of sweet flavor in her mouth and she bit into the cookie that Yang had fed her. She dropped Yang’s hand to get a handle on the massive cookie and Yang used her now free hand to push some of Blake’s hair away from her mouth. Blake flushed red and almost choked on her cookie, so Yang handed her a tiny cup of espresso. Ruby and Weiss shared a knowing glance.

Blake ate the last of the cookie in big bites and washed it down with the coffee. “That is really good. Really, really good.”

Yang smiled down at her and noticed a crumb of chocolate on Blake’s lip. Licking her thumb, she wiped it away and Blake went a more intense shade of scarlet. Even Weiss and Ruby couldn’t help but to blush along with her. Satisfied with the havoc she had caused, Yang collected her cups and stepped away from the counter.

“C’mon Ruby, we’ve got a busy early morning tomorrow and I bet these ladies want to close up shop soon too!”

Ruby picked up her plate and as the two sisters sailed out of the shop, Blake failed to steady herself against the counter and slid back down to the floor. Weiss spun around on her stool to gloat at her boss. “You forgot how very, very gay you are again didn’t you? How long has it been since you and Ilya broke up?”

“Two years…” Blake wheezed as she dragged herself back to her feet on jelly legs.

“This is why I said you should get to know your neighbors.”

Blake lurched forward to the door and flipped the sign to Closed. “See you tomorrow Weiss,” she said as she dragged herself to the back stairs up to her apartment.

Yang flipped her own sign to Closed as they walked back into the café. She groaned. “Ruby, why did I do that? Now she’s going to think I’m a creep and she’ll never want to talk to me and she’ll just go back to passive aggressive notes under the door.”

Ruby smiled at her sister, “I’ll admit that you laid it on a bit thick. But I think she was enjoying herself. And how long has it been since you actually flirted with someone?”

“Ruby, Vernal practically fled the country because we fought so badly. Yeah, it was hot while it lasted, but we could barely get along with our clothes on and… She’s my neighbor for goodness sake. I don’t want to fuck that up… Let’s just clean up and finish prep.”

  
As the sun slipped from her windows, Blake took a cup of tea and the latest volume of Secrets of the Shinobi to unwind in bed. But just as the hero was about to confess to his lady love, she heard a strange buzzing noise. It wasn’t her phone, so she sat in complete silence for a few moments before she realized that the quiet buzzing and the soft moaning were coming from the other side of the wall. Blake buried her head under the covers and tried hard not to listen, but she found her hand snaking into her pajama pants.

She found herself to be incredibly wet and aroused and it wasn’t too long before she was trying to stifle her own moans in her pillow. _Its Yang’s fault_ she thought _She didn’t have to be that beautiful or that nice or that seductive. But it’s been such a long time since anyone made me feel like that and it had to be the annoyingly loud barista next door because that’s just my luck. But fuck I want her…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Blake continue to fumble over their attraction to each other.

When Blake woke up the next morning, she padded down the hall into her kitchen and flipped on her electric kettle before hopping in the shower. The cold water calmed her down from her thoughts of Yang and by the time she returned to the kitchen, she was focused and ready to begin the day. But her kettle sat there cold.

Blake headed down the stairs and let herself out of the shop. She took a deep breath before turning to head into the coffee shop. The first thing she noticed was that it smelled amazing; warm, roasty, sweet and a spice she couldn’t place. Yang was running the espresso machine while Ruby was taking orders and money and handing out baked goods. Blake noticed a few of her regulars sipping their drinks in the bustling seating area as she moved through the line. When it was her turn, Ruby looked up at her with a smile.

“Hi Blake! Its so cool to finally see you here! What would you like?”

“A jasmine tea, please.” She pulled out her wallet to pay, but Ruby stopped her.

“First one is on the house! You want one of these too! And this!” Ruby held out a heavily frosted cookie in a wax paper sleeve and a punch card with one punch marked.

“I…I couldn’t,” Blake started, but Yang turned around to see why Ruby had paused and cut in.

“You most certainly can. I’ll have your tea ready on a few minutes, so go have a seat.” Blake felt her protest wilting under Yang’s radiance and slipped off to an open table.

The cookie was the source of the spicy smell. A second glance at the menu board told Blake that it was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and it certainly tasted like a piece of cake. The cookie had been frosted slightly warm and it was starting to melt onto Blake’s fingers. She set down the cookie to lick her fingers quickly.

“They’re delicious aren’t they?” Yang had come out from behind the counter with Blake’s tea. Blake quickly grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table and wiped her fingers there instead. Yang pretended not to notice the small smear of frosting in the corner of Blake’s mouth as she pulled up a chair and set the tea cup in front of Blake. “So, what brings you over from the other side of the wall?”

“My electric kettle broke. And Weiss has been pretty passionate about the baked goods, so I thought I would see what the noise is all about.”

Yang gave that glowing sun smile again as she propped her head up on her hands. “Aww, poor kettle and Weiss is too sweet. I’m sorry about the noise in advance today. I have a big order tomorrow so I have to do an extra batch of beans today."

“Well the noise last night wasn’t so bad, so I think I can put up with a little extra today,” Blake busied herself with her tea.

“Noise last night…” said Yang softly and then the realization crashed over her. “I… I need to go clean something! Enjoy your tea!” Yang nearly knocked over her chair as she ran to the back of the café. 

Ruby looked up confused as Yang came crashing past her saying something about how she needed to do the dishes. Since the morning rush had died down, Ruby stuck her head back in the kitchen to see Yang frantically scrubbing a clean plate.

“Yang, I did the dishes this morning. What’s wrong?” Ruby entered the kitchen fully.

“Is she gone?”

“Who? Blake?” Ruby pushed open the swing door to look. “Yeah, she’s gone. Why?”

“Apparently our bedrooms are against the same walls and she… you know… heard me…” Yang braced herself against the sink and stared into the suds. “Now she probably thinks I’m a total pervert.”

“Yang, look at me.”

Yang turned to face her sister and Ruby clapped Yang’s cheeks in her hands.

“What exactly did she say?”

“That the noise wasn’t too bad last night so she can put up with the extra beans I need to do today.” 

“Yang, you are a grown-ass independent woman who can do whatever she wants. Do you remember in college when we had Jaune and Pyrrha on one side of us and Ren and Nora on the other side? We were all adults about it then and you can be an adult about it now. She came here of her own accord this morning and honestly, it sounds like she’s as bad at flirting as you are. Let’s not jump to anymore conclusions and get back out there and finish up and get ready for tomorrow.”

Yang sighed, “Thanks sis. She’s just so… I don’t know yet…”

Ruby led Yang out of the kitchen. “It’s ok not to know yet. Honestly, you’ve only really known each other for less than a day.”

Yang took up her position at the espresso machine. _Ruby’s right, I barely know Blake. But I want to know her and then maybe “know” her…_

Weiss was grateful that she had taken Ruby up on her suggestion of a drink tray because Shadowcat still looked locked. She juggled the drinks as she fished her keys out of her purse, but when she put her key in the lock the door swung right open. She flipped the sign to open as she entered.

“Blake? Are you in here? Is everything ok? Ruby said you went to the café this morning, but you left without your refill.”

She put the drinks down on the counter and peeked behind it. Blake was sitting on the floor behind the counter hugging her knees to her chest.

“Hey Weiss.”

Weiss sat on the floor next to Blake. “Is this a thing you can talk to your employee about or is this a thing you can talk to your friend about?”

“A friend,” was the muffled reply.

Weiss threw her arm around Blake’s shoulders, “Tell me all about it.”

Blake took a deep breath, “I heard Yang… ahhh doing something by herself last night… and my kettle is broken, so I went to get tea before work and she was there and I tried to make a joke about the noise and she got really embarrassed and ran off and now she’s never going to want to talk to me ever again…”

“Aww,” Weiss gave Blake a squeeze. “You poor thing. You’ve fallen pretty hard for her haven’t you? Tell you what; go see Mr. Polendina now. Get your kettle fixed. Come back and drink your tea and then go talk to her this afternoon. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then she’ll at least know that you didn’t mean to be rude and maybe later you can be friends. Ready to get up?”

Blake allowed Weiss to help her to her feet. “Thanks Weiss, I really appreciate it. Sure you’ll be ok while I’m gone?”

“It’ll be fine.”

Mr. Polendina couldn’t fix the kettle, but he gave Blake a discount on a used one. Blake walked back through the warm spring morning and she felt much calmer and happier than she had been in a while. Weiss shooed her upstairs so she could put the kettle in her kitchen. Blake folded up the box and took it out to the back alley recycling bin. She was still lost in thought when she ran into something solid going out the door. Yang had been turning and carrying two heavy bags of trash, so she hadn’t noticed the door opening behind her. She dropped her bags and whirled around to catch whatever had hit her. She wasn’t anticipating Blake. 

“I’m sorry!” they said in unison as they realized they were holding each other and both leapt back as far as they could in the narrow alley.

Blake gathered all of her courage, “I’m really sorry for creeping you out this morning. I was trying to make a joke, but I don’t think it came out right. I won’t do it again.”

Yang smiled, “No don’t! I came on really strong yesterday and I probably made you really uncomfortable. And I need to remember to be a more respectful neighbor, so I think we’re fair. Would you like a hug?”

“A hug?” Blake looked confused.

“Yeah, I’m a big hugger and you look like you could use one.”

“Yes, I would.” Blake moved into Yang’s open arms.

She was softer and slighter than Yang expected her to be. Her chin rested on Yang’s shoulder and her hair smelled like violets. Yang wanted to run her fingers through Blake’s hair, but squeezed her tighter instead. Blake pulled back a little but not completely out of the hug. Yang noticed the light flush ran down Blake’s cheeks to her neck and past the collar of her shirt that had shifted just slightly to allow a peek. But suddenly her lips were very close and Yang didn’t resist being pulled into the kiss.

Yang tasted like the cookie Blake had had for breakfast. Blake ran her hand through Yang’s hair to bring her closer. She felt her knees going weak again and leaned into Yang, who responded by holding her tighter. When the kiss broke, Blake staggered back.

“We should get back to work, I’ll… umm… see you later.” 

Blake slid back into her door, leaving Yang still standing there in a state of shock. She floated back up to the front counter where Weiss was sorting the mail.

Weiss didn’t look up as she offered Blake the small, square envelope. 

“Here, this one just has your name on it.”

Blake was still floating from the kiss as she pulled out the small piece of paper. When she looked at the note her heart began to pound in her ears and the world swirled and went black as she collapsed to the floor. She was dimly aware of Weiss screaming and the note slipped out of her fingers to flutter to the floor. Four simple words in all too familiar, spiky handwriting.

_Found you my darling_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit more talky and less action, but I think it has its moments! This is where the implied abuse (both physical and sexual) starts.

_She had left the window open while she was packing, more like shoving clothes and books into bags at random. The breeze off the ocean was warm and salty and masked the rustling of the tree outside her window as He climbed up them._

_“Where are you going my darling?”_

_Her body felt like she had jumped into a tub of ice water. She didn’t turn to face him._

_“You’re not supposed to be here.”_

_He was crossing the room now._

_“What are you going to do my darling? Scream? Cry? Put up a fight again? You know I’m the best thing for you. I’ll never let you leave again._

_He had reached her now and she felt bolted to the floor as his arms snaked around her. One hand was pulling aside her bra and the other had a firm grip on her belt. She opened her mouth to scream._

“NO!”

“Blake! Its ok! You’re safe!”

Weiss swam back into Blake’s vision again, but the setting was wrong. This wasn’t Shadowcat, these weren’t her clothes. Why was Yang there?

“Blake you fainted,” Weiss continued. “I saw the note. Who wrote that?”

At the thought of the note, Blake’s stomach began to roll. Thankfully Yang was able to put the room’s trash can up fast enough as Blake retched and heaved. As they all caught their breath, the curtains rustled and the nurse poked her head in the gap.

“Excuse me, but it sounds like you need some help in here.”

“Velvet!” Yang exclaimed. “I forgot that you worked here.”

“It’s good to see you too, Yang.” Velvet’s scrubs were covered in cartoon bunnies and she busied herself attending to Blake’s monitors and straightened the blankets and pillows before relieving Yang of the trash can and stepping out of the room for a moment. She came back with a little flashlight and a tray of food. She turned to Weiss and Yang. “Could you two step out for a moment please?”

Yang leaned up against the wall as Weiss paced a section of the hallway.

“I’m sorry to get you messed up in this, Yang, but I don’t know what happened. She came in from taking out the trash, read this note and just collapsed. I’ve never seen that happen to her and there wasn’t anything on the envelope. Blake moved to Vale from Menagerie about five years ago and I’ve never heard her talk about her past or her family, so I don’t even know if they’re alive or not. When her and Iliya broke up, I think Iliya went back to Menagerie too. She’s put everything she has into Shadowcat and I don’t think she has many friends around here.” Weiss’s lips started to tremble and she hastily grabbed a tissue from the box on the nurse’s station.

“I’m glad she has you for a friend Weiss. You seem to get along really well. We were putting out the trash at the same time and she seemed fine then.”

“Hello Yang, Weiss, what brings you ladies here today?”

Both of the women turned to see Lie Ren walking down the hallway towards them, clipboard in hand.

“My boss, Blake, got sick at work, so I brought her in.”

Barely perceptible to either woman was the flicker of recognition that passed Ren’s face. His smile was a little firmer now. “That’s very kind of you. Would you please excuse me? I have a patient waiting.” He turned quickly into Blake’s room and Velvet stepped out.

“Oh good, you two are still here! Depending on Dr. Ren’s opinion, Blake should be ready to go home when he’s done with her. I’m going to get her discharge instructions ready and if you’re hungry the cafeteria is serving lunch for another half hour.”

Yang turned to Weiss, “I met Ren in college, but I know you didn’t go there. How do you know each other?”

“Father’s company hired his wife’s design firm to renovate their offices. The opening party would have been exceptionally dry without Nora to liven it up.”

Yang laughed, “She’s always been a wild one.”

Ren stepped out of the room. “Would you ladies mind joining us?”

Blake was curled up on her side in the bed when they passed through the curtain. Ren settled back into the chair at the foot of the bed. Weiss took the chair right at the bedside and Yang leaned up against the wall.

“That note,” Blake’s voice was tiny, “is from my ex-boyfriend Adam. We grew up in Menagerie together and we started dating in college. It was really great when it started, but he started changing and it was so gradual that I didn’t notice right away.” 

She took a deep breath, “The first time I really noticed that something was wrong was after I came home late one night. He always wanted me to call him when I went out and tell him what I was doing and who I was with. I thought it was sweet of him to look in on me, but that night I didn’t. I didn’t even think of it until I got home and he was waiting up for me. I told him that he shouldn’t worry, but then he hit me… And the next thing I remember is him on top of me… And I woke up the next morning with my clothes all over the place…”

Blake buried herself under the covers. Yang felt white hot fury course through her as she watched Blake steel herself to continue.

“I tried to leave him, I really did. He would go from nice to mean and back in an instant and I really wanted to believe him. But Ilyia was always there for me and she listened and really helped me see him for the manipulator he is. She helped me move back into my parents’ place, but then the phone calls started… I changed my number and then the notes started… When Ilyia and I started dating they got so much worse… Ilyia and I decided that we needed to just get away, but before we could leave, he broke into my house and…” Blake started to cry and Weiss reached out to put a hand on her shoulder.

“Blake, I’m so sorry that this happened to you. I know it won’t fix the past, but let me call my sister, Winter. I know she has at least one officer who focuses on this kind of stuff and we can help you.”

“I’ll stay with you tonight if you want,” Yang knelt down beside Blake. Blake nodded slowly as she emerged from the covers.

“Alright,” Ren finished with his notes. “If Weiss brings Winter and her officer over and Yang stays with you tonight, do you think you can stay safe until our regular appointment next week Blake? You know you can always call me too right?”

Blake took a shaky breath, “Yes, I think so. Thank you for coming Dr. Ren.”

“Any time Blake. I’ll go tell Velvet she can discharge you.” 

“I’m going to go call Winter to see if she can give us a ride home too. I rode with you in the ambulance and Yang rode her bike behind us.”

Weiss left, pulling out her cellphone and holding open the curtain for Velvet who was carrying a folder of papers and a bag.

“Here are your clothes back!” she placed the bag on the bed and the folder on the table, “Those are your discharge instructions and the preliminary results of your bloodwork from today, so let me get these machines out of the way so you can get changed. I hope the next time I see you is under much happier circumstances!” She removed Blake’s IV line, unclipped the pulse oximeter and blood pressure cuff and wheeled away the machines.

“Yang, I’ll be just a minute,” Blake pulled the bag of clothes toward her.

Yang stepped back out into the hallway and pulled out her phone. She pulled up her text messages and read:

_I got all the roasting and grinding done! I’ll be in early in the morning to finish the baking! I hope Blake is feeling better!_

As Yang went to reply, another text came in.

_Winter is going to meet us at the west entrance in ten minutes._

_Thanks, we’ll be right down_

Yang put her phone back in her pocket as Blake left the room. “Ready to go?”

“Yes, you have to use the wheelchair!” came Velvet’s voice from the nurses’ station.

Blake settled herself in the chair and Yang wheeled her towards the elevators. As they rode to the ground floor, Yang placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder and Blake placed a hand on top.

“I hope this doesn’t usually happen when you kiss someone for the first time.” Blake gave Yang a sly look.

“I must say this is a first,” Yang tried to smile back, but she could still feel her anger bubbling.

Blake must have sensed this as she was quiet until the elevator stopped and they rolled around to the west entrance. Weiss was waiting for them with two women. Winter was a carbon copy of her younger sister, but her starched pants and blazer were a stark contrast to Weiss’s usual sweater and skirt combo. At the sight of the redhead behind Winter, Yang felt like she might begin to relax; if Pyrrha was here, everything was going to be ok.

“You must be Blake,” Winter strode over to the wheelchair to shake Blake’s hand. “And you are?” she turned to Yang.

“Yang Xiao Long, I’m Blake’s neighbor.” 

Pyrrha was much more effusive and pulled Yang into a hug. “I’m so glad you see you again Yang. I’m sorry that I haven’t been to the shop much, but Jaune says you’re a lifeline of caffeine in a sea of twenty preschoolers.”

Yang laughed, “The last time he came in he still had clay in his hair! Its really good to see you too!” She turned to Blake, “Pyrrha and I went to college together and her husband Jaune teaches at the kindergarten by the park. She’s going to be an excellent help to you. I’ll go get my bike and meet you back at the stores.”

Winter and Weiss sat in the front of the patrol vehicle as Blake told Pyrrha her story in the back. Even hearing it a second time was enough to turn Weiss’s stomach and even Winter and Pyrrha were unusually serious. Pyrrha finished her notes as they pulled up in front of the bookstore. When they went into the store, Pyrrha placed her notebook on the counter and looked around the room.

“So there’s the front door, the alley door, the door to the café, the basement door and the door to your apartment? And they all have heavy locks and keys?”

“I don’t know about the café door, but all the rest are well locked. I had them installed when I bought the place. I have keys to everything but the café and Weiss can get into the store or the basement.” Blake slouched on her stool, exhausted.

The shop bell dinged as Yang came in.

“Yang, what do you know about the door between the store and the café?” Winter asked.

“That it has a lock and the only key is right here,” Yang held up her shop keys.

“Good,” Pyrrha had moved on to a fresh page of notes. “Technology is cool and all, but nothing beats a solid lock. I’m going to bring you some small motion cameras tomorrow, so if he physically tries to come in, we’ll have hard proof. You have some options Blake. I could move you into a safe house until we get a handle on things or you can stay here if you feel safe enough.”

“I want to stay here. I don’t want to lose my home again.”

“Fair enough. Do you have the same number that you did in Menagerie?”

“No, it’s a completely new phone.”

“Do you have the note?”

Weiss pulled it out of her sweater pocket and handed it to Pyrrha.

“I’ll keep this on file. The most maddening thing about my job is that I can’t do much without a body of evidence, so I need anything else that he might send to you. Winter can pass out his description to the rest of the officers to be on the lookout and I’ll call the Menagerie police to see if he’s left the country.”

“I’m going to put extra patrols around this block for the next couple days and I wish I had the resources for more,” Winter squeezed Blake’s hand. “We’ll keep you updated.”

Pyrrha came around the counter to hug Blake. “I’ll leave you my card and don’t be afraid to call me whenever you need anything.”

“Thank you everyone,” Blake’s voice was soft and exhausted. “I really just want to take a hot shower and go to bed.”

“Then we should leave you be. Weiss, do you need a ride home?” Weiss gave Blake a quick squeeze before following Winter and Pyrrha out the door and locking it behind her.

“Yang are you going to stay here tonight?” Blake’s head rested on her arms on the counter.

“If you want me to. I just have to duck out a little early to help Ruby get the order ready for delivery.”

“That’s fine. Do you need to get anything?”

“Yeah I should grab some stuff from my place. Mind letting me out the back? I’ll only be a minute.”

Yang sprinted up to her apartment and threw some clothes and toiletries in a duffel bag before dashing back down the stairs. Once the book store was locked behind them, Blake opened the door to her apartment. Yang headed up the narrow staircase first as Blake secured the door. 

The apartment was simple and cozy with overstuffed furniture and bookcases. There was a pass through window from the living room to the eat-in kitchen and a short hallway looked like it went to the bedroom and the bathroom. Yang dropped her duffel on the couch and began to examine the books.

“Please make yourself at home. I’m going to go wash the hospital off of me. Oh, there’re leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry. I’m sorry that I don’t have more to offer.”

“I’ll be fine. Take your time cleaning up.”

Blake disappeared to the bedroom and Yang waited until she heard the shower turn on to turn away from the books and head to the kitchen. Her mind was racing and she tried to calm it down as she made dinner from Blake’s odds and ends.

_What do I even say to her? I’m sorry your abusive ex is back, but hey that kiss? I have a bit of a temper, but I’m nothing like him? Its currently taking all my self control to not hunt him down?_

“What did you make?” Blake had appeared at Yang’s side, her hair still damp.

“Oh!” Yang jumped. “Tuna salad sandwiches on toast. I hope that’s ok.”

“Mmm, that’s one of my favorites! I was going to go grocery shopping after work, but it doesn’t look like I’m getting there today. Shall we?” Blake gestured to the two stools at the dining counter.

They munched on their sandwiches in silence for a few minutes.

Blake looked over at Yang. “You look like you want to say something.”

 _Fuck_. “So what happened with Ilyia?”

Blake put down her sandwich and took a deep breath. “When we came to Vale, we lived in a hostel for a little bit so we could get things figured out, worked some dead end jobs. A couple months in, I saw an ad for this place. The previous owners were retiring to the country and wanted to sell fast. I was lucky that my savings were enough that we didn’t have to take out a huge loan. Ilyia… she always wanted adventure and travel, but I just wanted somewhere safe to live. So she left. I think she just grew bored of me and since Adam was supposed to be in jail, she felt like she didn’t need to protect me anymore. I don’t know, but I’ve made my peace with it. I like my life a lot now. What about you?”

Yang shifted uncomfortably in her chair, “My ex, Vernal, and I, we… we fought a lot. Like cats and dogs really. We met in bar and one thing led to another, but it didn’t last that long. I was thinking about renting out the place I live now when I bought the café; I think that was a little after you took over next door, but we had a really big fight and I moved out of our place and into next door. Vernal took the next flight to Vacou. I found that out when I went back for more of my stuff.”

Blake reached over to Yang’s hand. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Yang wrapped Blake’s hand in hers. “I feel like I should be the one comforting you.”

Blake smiled. “Dr. Ren is a big help to me. I was pretty much a wreck when I started seeing him. But I think I’m pretty under control now. Today being an exception.”

Yang smiled back, “It’s so weird hearing him referred to as a Doctor. Do you want to go watch some TV? There’s this cooking show that Ruby got me hooked on and it’s pretty soothing.”

Blake squeezed Yang’s hand. “Sure.”

Yang was expecting Blake to sit at the other end of the couch or in the armchair, but Blake curled up right next to her, wrapped in a fleece blanket. She wrapped her arm around Blake to pull her in closer. At the end of the episode, Yang went to ask Blake if she wanted to watch another, but Blake had fallen asleep. Gently, Yang shifted so that she could pick up Blake and carry her to the bedroom.

Blake stirred as Yang was trying to situate the sheets and quilt around her. “Yang stay,” her voice was heavy with sleep.

“I will, I’ll be just down the hall on the couch.”

“No, here.”

“You want me to sleep here with you?”

“Yesss.”

Yang finished tucking Blake in and went around to the other side of the bed. As soon as she was covered up, Blake’s hand grabbed her wrist and pulled Yang onto her side to spoon with her. 

“Like this.”

Yang tightened her arm around Blake’s waist and took a deep breath of Blake’s lavender scented hair. _I could get used to this_ she thought as she fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls go on a date and one thing leads to another...

The light coming in through the curtains was directly in Yang’s face. She buried her face in something sweet smelling and tried to get back to the dream she was having.

“Hey you.”

It was that angel voice that slowly brought Yang back to the real world. She was holding Blake. The beautiful woman who had kissed her the day before. She was in Blake’s apartment. Blake, the woman who owned the bookstore next door to her café. Her café, her pride and joy… That had a massive order due. Right now.

Weiss had anticipated this. Blake kept the spare apartment key in a lock box in the tiny closet they referred to as “accounting”, so Weiss had unlocked that door when she first arrived. She had settled in at the counter and was checking her stocks when she heard the rumbling start down the stairs. Yang was a comet, streaking through the shop and out the back door with a bang. The noises continued, muffled, on the other side of the wall. Weiss sipped her coffee.

“Good morning Blake. I wouldn’t be too worried about that,” Weiss nodded in the direction of next door to Blake, who had wandered down the stairs in Yang’s wake. “I came over early today and Ruby and Penny were loading coffee and cookie boxes as fast as they could into Penny’s car, so I figured that Yang forgot about the order this morning.”

“Penny is old enough to drive now?”

“Apparently so. Pyrrha will be here in a half hour to do the cameras if you want to slip into something a little more formal?”

Blake turned to head back upstairs, “Weiss, this is why I hired you. To be an organized check on my disorderly life and for that I’m grateful.”

Yang wasn’t certain what she expected to find, but Penny behind the cash register wasn’t one of them. When the morning rush died down, Ruby looked up from behind the pastry case.

“Penny, you should go take a break right now and when you get back, I’ll show you how to start getting things ready for tomorrow.”

“Certainly boss!” Penny skipped out from behind the counter and headed to one of the outside tables. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here this morning. I guess I forgot to set my alarm.” Yang shifted uncomfortably.

“I know you weren’t here for a good reason, but Yang, that big heart of yours is going to get you into trouble one day. Blake is going through a lot right now and I know you want to help her, but you can’t forget about your responsibilities. I love you very much and you know I support you with whatever you do. And I think Penny is going to fit in great here.”

“Thanks Sis… wait… you hired Penny?”

“She has a car and time before her classes three days a week and on weekends. And she’s super cheery and a fast learner. I figured you might want a little more you time in the mornings now.” 

“I mean, we do need the help in general. But I was a really shitty boss this morning and you shouldn’t have to clean up after me.”

A devilish smile crept over Ruby’s face as she opened the door to the kitchen, “Oh don’t worry. I didn’t.”

Pyrrha and Blake installed the cameras as Weiss searched the mail.

“I really hope this is just temporary,” Blake sighed as Pyrrha set up the little monitor and tape recorder in the accounting office.

“Me too. I will warn you that I haven’t heard back from my counterparts in Menagerie yet. Apparently they’ve had issues with their record keeping system, but I’ve been assured that they are looking into it.”

“I guess that’s the best we can do for now. I really appreciate your help with all of this.”

“Thank you,” Pyrrha smiled. “I wish my job wasn’t necessary, but I’m glad I can do something good.”

“The mail is all set and thankfully nothing exciting,” Weiss leaned in the doorway.

“Then it sounds like my work here is done for the day.” Pyrrha gave Blake a hug. “Don’t forget to call me if you need anything or just want to talk.”

Weiss turned to Blake as Pyrrha left. “Do you need to run any errands this afternoon? That way, there’ll be someone here to keep an eye on things.”

“If you don’t mind, I do really need groceries.”

“Then go; I can manage for an hour or so.”

The grocery store was two blocks away and mostly empty of shoppers on a sunny afternoon as Blake pushed her little cart up and down the aisles. To her surprise, Yang was in the cleaning supplies aisle loading up a basket with dish soap.

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble this morning.”

Yang’s smirk made Blake’s knees go weak. “Ruby did an amazing job getting everything organized and as punishment, she left the entire kitchen for me to clean. And I ran out of soap halfway through, so here I am. We’re even now.”

Blake’s giggle gave Yang a thrill. “So!”

“So, do you want to go on a date?”

Blake was taken aback. “A date?”

“Yes a date. The “I pick you up at eight” kind. I know it must be the last thing on your mind with everything that’s going on, but I thought it would be good if you got out and had a good time.”

It took Blake a few moments to really process what Yang was asking her. “Y-y-yes, I mean, I have an appointment with Dr. Ren and a couple of book clubs to facilitate this week. But Friday, maybe?”

“Actually Friday would be great! Ruby made the executive decision to hire Penny this morning, so I can put her on the schedule for Saturday morning.”

“That’s… very nice of her?”

“So I will see you on Friday at eight, if I don’t see you in the alley before then.”

“That can be arranged.”

Yang leaned over to whisper in Blake’s ear as she walked away with her basket, “I like it when you’re feisty.”

_I hope Weiss doesn’t mind me needing a cold shower when I get back._

Weiss was reading something on her tablet when Blake staggered in the door.

“I have a date. With Yang. On Friday.”

“That’s fantastic! What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know; she’s picking me up at eight.”

“Ooo, that’s romantic!”

Blake slumped against the counter. “I don’t know if I can do romance.”

Weiss brought her forehead down to meet Blake’s. “You own a bookstore. With quite possibly the most extensive romance collection that I have ever seen. You have plenty of time to study.”

“I need to shower, do you mind?”

“Not at all. But I do have to leave when you’re done. My side hustle calls.”

“Remind me what that is again?”

“My father has a few clients that prefer my approach to international finance over his.”

“Why do you work here again?”

“Because this is substantially more enjoyable than a boardroom and much less stuck up.” Weiss straightened up on her stool. “You’re going to melt your ice cream standing around down here.”

“Again, you’re the best.” Blake shouldered her bags and headed up to her apartment as Weiss pulled out her phone. 

_How is it over there? Blake walked in on a cloud._

_Awesome! Yang is singing to the dishes! Operation Date is successful! Go us!_

_I wouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. They still have to actually go on the date._

_Don’t worry about it! They’ve got this!_

The next several days were a blur for Blake. Her appointment with Dr. Ren was just her babbling about how nice Yang was being to her. She could nod and smile through the book clubs. Adam’s note seemed like a bad dream. But now it was Friday and time had ground to a halt. Blake had picked out a knee length black sundress and a violet cardigan and bow to hold her hair back. Shining up her calf boots had burned a good half hour but time seemed to have stopped at twenty minutes to eight. Blake thumbed through the pages of random books, unsuccessfully trying to distract herself.

“Hey you.” The shop bell dinged as Yang let herself in. “You look amazing.”

Blake had to tear her eyes away from how smoothly Yang’s pants hugged her hips and thighs to the tantalizing hint of midriff between her waist and cropped jacket and upwards past her orange scarf and the sparkle of her violet eyes behind her aviators. “You look good too. So, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise! But you’ll need this,” Yang tossed Blake a motorcycle helmet.

“I… ah… don’t know how to drive a bike.”

“You don’t have to, just hold on tight to me ok?” Yang led Blake out of the shop to the waiting motorcycle. “Let me know if you need help putting your helmet on.” Yang put on her own helmet and straddled the bike to keep it still for Blake to get on. “Ok! Put your feet on those pegs there and scooch as close to me as you can and wrap your arms around me.”

Blake followed Yang’s instructions, adjusted her skirt and wrapped her arms around Yang’s waist. The bike rumbled underneath her and leapt forward with a roar. In her surprise, Blake almost let go of Yang completely and had to grab her again. Yang was so warm and soft, but to Blake’s delight and horror, her left hand hadn’t return to the security of Yang’s waist, rather the warmer, softer spot of Yang’s right breast. She immediately dropped her and to where it belonged and buried her face in Yang’s cinnamon scented hair.

Yang laughed, “Doing ok back there babe?”

Blake squirmed and nodded. _She called me babe_ …

They drove out of the city and up a winding road in the gathering dusk. Yang slowed as she entered the park and continued up the hill to the parking area.

“We’re here!” She turned the bike off and held still so Blake could get off before putting down the kickstand. She opened one of the saddlebags and pulled out a basket and blanket. Situating the blanket on top of the basket, she offered Blake her free hand. “Shall we?”

Blake laced her fingers into Yang’s as they walked up the short path. The clearing was on a small hill overlooking the city of Vale. They ignored the picnic area in favor of the soft grass and Yang spread the blanket out before rummaging through the basket. Blake settled on to the blanket and admired the twinkling lights of Vale.

“I hope this is to your taste,” Yang passed Blake a white paper wrapped sandwich. “Ruby wanted to try her hand at bread making and the recipe made more than she intended.” 

The bread was crusty and chewy and a creamy herb smear held thick slices of ham, cheddar cheese and tart apples. 

“It’s delicious! Thank you!” 

Putting the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth, Blake lay back on the blanket to close her eyes and savor the last of her dinner. Yang couldn’t help but notice the hem of Blake’s dress rising slowly up her thighs as she stretched her arms over her head. Yang reached back into the basket for the tubs of strawberries and whipped cream. Dipping a berry into the cream, she gently placed the berry on Blake’s lips.

“Don’t you want dessert?”

Blake bit the berry off the stem. “How did you know that berries and cream are my favorite?”

“A little birdie mentioned it.”

“Oh really?” Blake sat up so that she could reach across Yang for the berries and dipped one of them in the cream before bringing it to Yang’s lips and leaning even closer. “I should thank her.”

Yang’s hand was firm on Blake’s bare thigh as she pulled Blake fully into her lap, but her lips were sweeter than the strawberries. Blake kissed Yang back as fiercely as she could and knotted her right hand into Yang’s blonde waves as her left hand went searching for Yang’s breast again. Yang moaned into the kiss as Blake squeezed her breast and took advantage of a quick breath to nibble her way down Blake’s neck. Blake practically purred and rolled her hips into Yang’s as Yang bit into the base of her neck. Yang’s hands wandered up Blake’s thighs until they came to something lacy. Blake gave a little cry and muffled herself into Yang’s hair as Yang squeezed her ass.

“Wait.”

Yang retreated from under Blake’s dress and Blake straightened up to take deep breaths. The pale light of the moon highlighted the flush on her cheeks and swollen lips and Yang could see the faint outline of the bite mark blooming.

“Why me?”

The question caught Yang off guard. “Why you? Because you’re you. You’re the brilliant, beautiful girl next door and I… I can’t stop thinking about you every day. I just want you. I want to figure out all the things that make you smile and dry your tears when you need to cry. And I know that we both know that it’s not fair to tell someone that you’ll never hurt them, but I want to be a good thing for you for as long as I can.”

Tears were beginning to glitter on Blake’s cheeks and Yang sat up to hug her.

“I want to be with you too, Yang. Being around you makes me feel so much better. It’s like the sun came back into my life. But I’m scared… What if Adam…”

“Fuck Adam. I mean that’s easy for me to say, I don’t know him. But I don’t care about what he thinks or what anyone thinks. I care about you and making you feel safe. I’m here to help you Blake.”

Blake kissed Yang’s cheek. “I am safe if I’m with you.”

“Do you want to stay and see if we can see the meteor shower tonight or do you want to go home?”

Blake popped a strawberry into her mouth. “I want to finish these berries.

Yang laughed as she brought Blake back in for a kiss.

Sometime later, the two women wandered back down the trail to the waiting motorcycle hand in hand. Yang stowed the blanket and basket and they sped off into the night. Blake pressed herself into Yang’s back. The kisses and teasing had reminded Blake how much she loved kisses and teasing and now she wanted more.

Yang pulled the motorcycle around to the back of the building and they walked to their respective back doors. 

“Is this good night?” asked Yang.

“You can come upstairs with me if you like.” Blake gave Yang a flirtatious smile.

“I… I would like that very much.”

When Blake entered her bedroom she dropped Yang’s hand to pull off her dress. Yang was struck at the sight of Blake in just her bra and panties. She fumbled with the clasps on her jacket until Blake kissed her again and took over undressing her until Yang was just in her underwear as well.

Blake looked up at Yang longingly, “Yang please…”

Yang took Blake into her arms and laid her down on the bed. Yang crawled onto the bed on top of Blake; Blake’s pelvis grinding into her thigh. With one hand, Yang pulled down the cup of Blake’s bra and bent her head to take Blake’s breast into her mouth and roll her firm nipple around with her tongue. Blake moaned and arched her back up towards Yang. She reached to pull Yang’s bra out of the way and began to massage Yang’s breasts.

Yang straightened up to undo her bra clasp and Blake sat up enough to do the same. It was Blake’s turn to nibble and suck on Yang’s breasts and nipples. 

“Fuck Blake, yess…” Yang ran her fingernails up Blake’s back making her whimper and squeeze Yang’s breasts harder. Yang ran her hands back down Blake’s back until she found the waistband for Blake’s panties. 

It was Blake’s turn to beg again. “Please please please,” she panted as they worked her panties off.

Even the brush of Yang’s fingers was enough to make Blake shudder. Yang bent back over to kiss Blake all over her face and chest as her fingers gently stroked Blake’s clit and pussy, reveling in the noises coming from Blake’s lips and her increasing wetness. She paused for a moment to pull back so she could watch Blake’s full reaction as her ring and index fingers slowly slipped into Blake’s aching pussy. She held Blake tightly as her fingers searched for a sensitive spot and the heel of her hand ground into her clit.

Blake’s pussy began to spasm around Yang’s hand. “Yang, I’m going to…”

“Cum for me.” Yan whispered back.

Blake came with a scream burying her face into Yang’s chest as the waves of pleasure rolled and subsided. Yang gently removed her hand and held Blake close and kissed her as she came back to earth. 

“Yang, lie down on your back.” Blake’s voice was soft and still a little shaky as Yang adjusted herself. Blake’s hands were still trembling as she pulled down Yang’s panties.

“Blake… don’t force your..ahh!”

Yang was cut off by Blake’s tongue beginning a figure eight pattern around her clit and labia. Yang ran her fingers through Blake’s hair as her hips began to buck. Blake was sucking on her clit now as two of her fingers pressed into Yang’s g-spot. Yang’s orgasm came too fast for her to warn Blake, but her scream was music to Blake’s ears. Blake snuggled into Yang’s side, tracing lazy patterns with her fingers.

“Now, before we forget, do you need an alarm for tomorrow?”

Yang laughed. “Don’t worry about that. Just keep kissing me.”

Across the city in a dingy motel, a red haired man flicked through the images on his camera. Yes, these would do nicely. What business did that blonde have kissing his girlfriend? He would bring Blake back to her senses. All he needed to do was remind her what she needed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang decides to take matters into her own hands.

The sun filtered through the curtains onto Blake’s back. Yang’s body was warm underneath her and her heartbeat was a soothing rumble. Blake slowly opened her eyes and stretched out. Yang’s golden hair was fanned out over the pillows and she was still deep asleep.

“Hey” Blake’s husky whisper cut through Yang’s dreams. “We should get up and go to work.”

Yang rubbed her eyes, “If we have to.” She sat up far enough to kiss Blake again, before swinging her legs over the bed to start looking for her clothes. Blake sat admiring the scratch marks running down Yang’s spine for a moment before getting up and going to her closet. She put on clean underwear from her drawer before picking out a swing dress and pulled over her before turning back to Yang. They held hands as they headed down to the bookstore.

Blake stopped short at the bottom of the stairs. Pyrrha was standing at her front counter with Weiss, both with panicked expressions. Weiss hastily began to gather up the papers on the counter.

“What happened?”

Pyrrha and Weiss exchanged an uneasy look. “There was a letter from Adam in the mailbox this morning. Weiss called me as soon as she realized what it was.”

“I want to see it.” Yang’s voice was firm.

Pyrrha paled, but nodded at Weiss who put the papers back on the counter. “Just don’t touch them.”

Yang snarled when she realized what she was seeing, “He was there. He followed us...” _I should be the only one who got to see her like that last night._

Blake peeked around Yang, her stomach in knots, “The park...” _The way she was touching me… he was right there and we didn’t notice...”_

“Was there a note?” Yang’s rage was cracking through her voice.

“I’ve haven’t read it for any level of detail yet, but at first glance...”

“He’s angry that I’m with a woman, not him,” everyone turned to stare at Blake. “If he thought I was being too friendly with women… he said it was disgusting… that I was making him look bad… And now its happening again.”

Blake turned away quickly so they couldn’t see her starting to cry as she ran back upstairs.

“Blake! Wait!” Yang ran after her before anyone could stop her.

Blake was face down in her pillows sobbing, as Yang caught up to her. Yang sat on the bed next to her and reached out a hand to rub her back, but Blake knocked it away.

“Go away!”

“Blake… please...”

Blake curled up as far away as she could from Yang. “Just go. I don’t… You’re just going to get hurt if you stay with me, so you should just leave now.”

“Blake, I’m not going to leave you over this.”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

Yang took a deep breath, “Have I told you who my mother is?”

“What does your mother have to do with anything?” Blake snapped, sitting up to face Yang but still keeping her distance.

“My mother is Raven Branwen.”

Blake snorted, “Ok, your mother is allegedly in charge of the criminal underworld of Vale. Everyone has heard of Raven Branwen. Why does it matter if she’s your mother?”

“Vernal was one of my mother’s favorites and the fact that she left after we broke up and the absolute rage my mother went into when she found out,” Yang paused at Blake’s confused face. “Ok, I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I’m trying to tell you that I’ve faced down scarier things than your crazy stalker of an ex for love. The one thing I know for certain about loving someone is that its going to hurt and I’m ok with that.”

“Yang, that is one of the strangest arguments I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m not good at a lot of this stuff. But Blake, please don’t push me away. I want to be here for you.”

Blake turned to stare out the window, “I do really care about you Yang. But I’m scared, really, really scared. You don’t know what Adam is capable of and I don’t want another person in my life getting hurt because of him. I don’t want you to feel like you have to protect me.”

“Blake, if I’m ever in a situation where I feel like I need to protect you, it’ll be because you really need it and you’re the only person who can decide that.”

Blake turned back to Yang standing by the bed, her hands balled into fists and resolve in every line of her stance.

“Ok, let’s do this. Let’s live our lives like Adam doesn’t exist. Or at least try to.” Blake’s voice quavered as she tried to convince herself.

Yang walked around the bed to sit next to Blake. She took Blake’s hand in hers and pressed Blake’s knuckles to her lips. “All we can do is try I think. We have Pyrrha and Winter on our side and you don’t have to ever be alone again.”

  
  


After closing the cafe for the day and ensuring that Blake was busy with the teen’s book club, Yang headed into Vale’s entertainment district. The bars were beginning to get busy for the night, but Yang ignored the bright neon lights and pulsing music. The door she was looking for was nondescript and illuminated by a single bulb and opened into a set of basement stairs. The bar at the bottom was sparse on seating with a lone bartender polishing glasses. Yang ignored him and headed to the door at the other end of the room. As she reached for the knob, two bodyguards loomed out of the shadows.

“I’m here to see my mother.”

The bodyguards exchanged a grunt and Mr. Left slipped through the door while Mr. Right took up his position in front of it.

The bartender sniffed, “You have balls of titanium, Little Miss.” He finished polishing his glass and began to mix a drink while Yang slid into one of the stools to wait. He placed the napkin and her drink in front of her and Yang smiled when she sipped it.

“Aww, you didn’t forget!”

“I wouldn’t be worth my salt if I forgot how much the Little Miss likes her Strawberry Sunrises.”

Yang had just finished her drink when Mr. Left reentered the bar. “The Boss will see you now.”

With a smile to the bartender, Yang strode after Mr. Left as he led her through the door and down a hallway to a lounge. Mr. Left pulled back the curtain to one of the private booths and Yang slipped inside.

“Ah the prodigal daughter returns! What or who have you fucked up this time?” Raven’s smile didn’t completely meet her eyes.

“While I will fully acknowledge that I didn’t do my best with Vernal, leaving was completely her choice. But I need your help. I need you to find him,” Yang pulled out a mugshot of Adam that she had printed off.

“You have a lot of nerve coming here, so I’ll hear you out. Why do I care about some random loser?”

“He’s my girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. She had to flee her hometown to get away from him and now he’s stalking her. He followed us on a date and took pictures without us noticing. Blake is scared and I want to do everything I can to help her.”

Raven regarded her daughter for a few minutes before finally allowing her smile to bloom. “You remind me so much of your father, Yang. All heart but a bit light on sense.”

Yang smiled and leaned back in the booth, “I think its part of my charm.”

Raven studied the picture carefully. “Ok, I’ll have eyes out for him, but I can’t promise anything. What do you want done when he’s found?”

Yang shrugged, “Leave him somewhere Winter Schnee can find him.”

“Winter Schnee is looking for him?!” Raven’s outburst prompted a cough from the other side of the curtain. “Yang, what the hell are you doing getting her involved in this?! Winter Schnee will take any opportunity to take me down and you want me looking for the same guy she’s looking for?” Raven hissed.

Yang held her gaze. “Because I think you can find him before she can. Winter has no idea of our relationship and I’m going to keep it that way. I want Adam found quickly and I want Blake to know she’s going to be safe. And from what I know, this isn’t the kind of guy you want roaming around.”

“Fine,” Raven snarled. “I’ll find him, but you’re going to owe me a favor. You will not tell anyone about this, not your father, sister, uncle, stepmother and especially not Winter Schnee. I respect your decision to not want to work in my business, but you can’t make demands of me without getting some dirt on you. I’ll be in touch.”

Yang gave Raven her sunniest smile, “Thanks Mom! You’re the best!” She slipped out of the booth.

Raven waited until she heard the door shut before reaching back into the curtains with the picture. A gloved hand daintily plucked the picture from Raven’s grasp.

“Neo, fetch.”

  
  


Yang made it back to the bookstore as Blake was waving goodbye to the last book club participant. She bounded up the steps and swept Blake into her arms and a passionate kiss.

“Where did you go?” Blake asked when she could breathe again.

“Just out for a walk and a drink. I was thinking far too many inappropriate things to stay here with you and a bunch of kids.”

“Its funny Yang; I can sit in a room full of teenagers and have very inappropriate thoughts, but I can keep them to myself. They do need to come out eventually though,” Blake whispered into Yang’s ear before sinking her teeth into the curve of Yang’s neck.

It was Yang’s knees turn to buckle and she dug her nails into Blake’s back until they were both gasping. Yang was the first to recover and she hauled Blake over her shoulder. Blake squeaked and wiggled in surprise, but Yang gave her a playful swat on the ass.

“Settle down you!”

Blake complied until Yang laid her out on the bed. Blake rolled to all fours, her dress riding up her hips. “Please do that again.” Blake buried her face into the pillows.

“Wait,” Yang was quizzical, “You want me to spank you?”

“Yes, please,” Blake’s voice was muffled by the pillows.

Yang had a devilish gleam in her eyes as she bent down to whisper in Blake’s ear. “I didn’t catch that. What do you want me to do?”

“Spank me...”

“Spank you?” Yang’s hand started to caress Blake’s ass and pull the waistband of her panties down. “Why do you want me to spank you?”

Yang’s sultry tone and the rush of cool air on her now exposed pussy sent shivers down Blake’s spine. “I’ve...I’ve been thinking about you all day and how amazing last night was… and I wanted more...” Blake’s breathing became more ragged as Yang gave her another light tap.

“You naughty girl! I’m going to have to do something about that!”

By the time she was done, Blake had lost her dress and bra and her panties were around her knees. Her ass and thighs were bright red and Yang could see a few small spots starting to bruise. _I’m going to have to remember how much she likes that._ Yang thought as she stepped away to strip out of her clothes and let Blake catch her breath. Blake’s arousal was evident and Yang knew that if she even barely touched her pussy, Blake would come almost immediately.

Instead she slipped onto the bed, her back against the headboard, until she had Blake’s head between her thighs. Blake needed no instructions and began sucking on Yang’s clit. Yang moaned in pleasure; her eyes half closed as she wove her right hand into Blake’s hair and her left hand pinched at her own nipples.

Blake savored the moans and the twitching of Yang’s hips as she found the right spots. Pleasing Yang was the only thing she could think of and even the soreness of her ass became background noise as Yang’s firm grip kept her in just the right place. It wasn’t until Yang came with an empathetic “Fuucck”and Blake had cleaned away all of Yang’s cum, that Blake dared raise her head to look at Yang.

Yang gave a throaty chuckle when she saw Blake’s amber eyes peek up at her and she pulled Blake up to kiss her. Yang slipped her right hand between them and Blake let out a deep moan as Yang’s fingers crept past her very sensitive clit to curl easily into her cunt.

“You didn’t think I would forget about you?” Yang’s breath was hot on Blake’s neck.

Blake shook her head furiously as the heel of Yang’s hand began to grind just above her clit. Any lower would have been overstimulating, but this was absolute paradise as Blake rode Yang’s hand to her own orgasm. When she finally collapsed into Yang’s arms, Yang shuffled them both down to rest on the bed.

“Hey” Blake’s voice was soft and sweet. “Yang, I think… I’m falling in love with you.”

Yang’s heart was lighter than air. “I love you back.”

  
  


Across town, Pyrrha examined the grainy surveillance video. He had to be on there. He had to. She had to find something because the pit in her stomach told her that this could only get worse. That Adam was the kind of abuser that would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. What was that shadow just now at the top of the frame?

Yang and Blake slept in peaceful bliss. Neither of them heard the sound of glass shattering in the cafe.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time I've ever written any sort of violence or peril. But I did my best and that's what matters! CW: Blood, disfigurement, heavily implied rape, peril.

“Just a little higher!” Yang gritted her teeth as she stretched to fasten the tarp to the wall. When the broken window was covered, she went back inside the cafe where Ruby and Penny were sweeping up the last of the broken glass.

“These were supposed to be shatterproof,” Yang sighed as she surveyed the damage. “But this is the second broken window in three days… granted the office window was just normal glass.” Yang turned her frustration to the table that had been broken by the rock that had finally made it through the window. “Penny, do you think your dad can fix this?”

“I think so, he has a bunch of tables he keeps for parts, so there must be a new top he can put on.”

The shop bell dinged behind Yang.

“I’m sorry, but we’re closed.” Yang turned to see a group of strangers with a large wrapped parcel.

The leader of the group stepped out and handed Yang a note.

_Yang, I know I promised to not interfere with your business, but I hope you’ll let me pay for this one thing. Concerning the matter we discussed, I’m following up on a promising lead_ _and I expect things to be resolved soon. -RB_

Yang turned back to her employees. “Good news! These folks are here to fix the window.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow, but she and Penny moved the rest of the the tables aside to let the workers through.

“Why don’t I take this table home to my dad and see what he can do with it?”

As Penny drove away with the table in her car, Ruby turned to Yang. “What does your mother want?”

“C’mon Ruby, cut her some slack. She’s just being helpful.”

Ruby sighed and shook her head, “Since when does Raven do anything that won’t benefit her in the end? You’re so much like Dad sometimes, Yang.”

“Since when is that a bad thing?”

“Is this a bad time?” Winter and Pyrrha had opened the door enough to peek in.

“Come on in!” Yang smiled, “I don’t have anything to serve you though.”

“It’s fine, we wouldn’t want to intrude.” Pyrrha settled into a chair and began pulling papers out of her folder while Winter leaned on the table.

The bell rang again as Blake let herself in the shop. She handed Pyrrha a disc case. “Here you go.”

Pyrrha pulled a portable DVD player out of her bag, inserted the disc and started fast forwarding. “Winter, you drove by at 11 right? And Ruby, you got here at 4?” They both nodded. “Perfect, give me just a few minutes.”

Winter turned to address the rest of the group, “Pyrrha thinks and I agree that Adam is behind the vandalism here.” She gestured towards the workers. “We hope that we caught him on camera last night. Pyrrha has been able to grab a few frames here and there that match his description, but we need something firmer to go on. Blake, you haven’t gotten any more mail?”

Blake laced her fingers into Yang’s. “No, nothing since the last one.”

“Got it!” Pyrrha turned the screen to face the group. There was a fuzzy shape in the upper left hand corner. Pyrrha pressed play and the figure stalked across the screen towards the cafe, fists clenched around something. There was a few seconds of a crashing noise and the figure reappeared, but this time it looked up at the camera for a brief moment.

“Its him!” Blake shrieked and squeezed Yang’s hand until she felt steadier on her feet.

“Are you certain?” Winter placed a steadying hand on Blake’s shoulder.

“Yes, absolutely. He had that mask on display because it was some kind of family heirloom. And the one time I touched it to clean, he nearly broke my...”

Yang pulled Blake into a tight hug. “She says its him, now what?”

“With the rest of the videos, I’ve a much narrower window of the time he’s most likely to show up. I’ll spend today getting everything ready for a stakeout and if he keeps the same pattern, he’ll show up again tomorrow night and I’ll be waiting.” Pyrrha’s resolve was infectious and Blake felt like a massive weight was lifting off her chest.

_Its almost over._

As they began to discuss logistics, Yang’s eyes were attracted to a tiny, pale object skipping across the screen in the same direction as Adam.

_It couldn’t be._

  
  


Neo was not having one of her better days. Her quarry knew he was being followed and was doubling back every other street, ducking in and out of alleys. She kept a firm grip on her parasol as she fought through another crowd of commuters heading home. The difficulty of the chase was satisfying though; Raven kept her back for the most delicate of jobs and Neo enjoyed her trust. She didn’t need to know why Raven wanted this man, just how much she was allowed to do to him.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she walked into the alley. This one was particularly narrow and the buildings kept it in perpetual shade. He was hiding somewhere, probably in one of the doorways. She shifted her parasol into her right hand as she stalked deeper into the dark. The rush of air behind her made her freeze.

“Well, well, what have we here? Go home, little girl. This is no place for a kid like you.”

Neo took quick stock of her opponent. He was over a foot taller than her with the lean build of a martial artist. He would have been handsome if his face wasn’t contorted in a hateful snarl. There was the outline of a weapon under his long coat. A sword? Of course he would be the kind of asshole that carried a sword. Nevermind that. Hush looked much daintier than she was any way; all lace and silk with a lead weighted shaft and ribs and a hidden blade at the tip.

“Not going to bother to tell me who sent you? Guess I’ll just have to find them when I’m done. But first...” Adam lunged at Neo, drawing his sword to slash across her torso. Neo easily deflected it and they began to fence up and down the alley.

The alley was too narrow to open Hush completely, but it also prevented Adam from getting a full swing in. They stabbed, deflected and parried, both looking for the smallest opening to make contact. Neo could tell that the man was getting frustrated and she shifted her grip to press the button for Hush’s blade as she swept towards his face.

Adam gave a roar of pain and anger as his left hand tried to stop the bleeding from his left eye. He blindly struck back and Neo felt a flash of pain across her stomach. She had lowered her guard a moment too soon and dropped to her knees. The cut wasn’t too deep, but it was long and she was bleeding heavily.

Suddenly light flashed into the alley. “Hello! Who’s there? Come out with your hands up!”

Adam sheathed his sword and began to scramble up one of the fire escapes. “I’ll be back for you,” he promised the darkness. The bitch would pay for ruining his eye.

Neo dragged herself into one of the doorways and fumbled with the knob, It opened just as the beam of the flashlight reached her and she stumbled into the store room of a glass blower. The owner was covering her furnace for the night when Neo dropped a bloodstained silver badge shaped like a bird onto the counter.

Cinder scowled at the blood dripping on her floor as she picked up her phone. “Madam Bronwen should know that one of her associates is making a mess all over my floor. Yes, I understand. That’s what mutual aid is for, right?”

Cinder hung up the phone and turned back to Neo, who was shredding her jacket for bandages. “Your ride is on its way. Try not to die in the meantime or break anything or your boss won’t get her next payment.”

Neo settled onto the floor. She had to get home quickly. People with nothing to lose were the most dangerous.

  
  


“You’re going to be late if you keep kissing me!” Blake giggled as Yang ran feathery kisses up and down her neck and collarbones.

Weiss had gone home for the day and Yang had placed Blake on the counter to tease her. Blake gasped and gripped the edge as Yang’s hands went under her dress and tickled her thighs.

“Won’t your friends be upset if they have to wait for you?”

“If they could see you, they would understand.” Yang slouched to rest her chin between Blake’s breasts and cupped her ass in her hands. “Are you sure that you don’t want to come with me?”

“I have a mountain of paperwork to do. And nightclubs aren’t really my style. But you should go and have fun and tell me all about it when you get back.”

Yang reached up to kiss Blake one more time before letting her go and pulling on her bike jacket and glasses. “You think if I get back while they’re cuffing Adam, they’ll let me get a few hits in before they take him to the station?”

Blake sighed and shook her head. “I’m trying to not think about that. And Neon and Flynt are only in town for the night and you’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

Yang looked over the top of her sunglasses as she turned to head out the door. “If you’re certain you don’t want to go out and avoid the whole stakeout, good luck with your paperwork and don’t wait up for me.”

“I’ll be just fine. See you later!”

As Yang’s tail lights faded, Blake settled intoher chair in her accounting office with her ledgers. The light in the shop slowly faded and the sun was nearly set when Blake pulled off her headphones and put down her pen.

“Hello my darling.”

He was right there, blocking the doorway. Dried blood streaked through his face and hair. What had happened to his eye? And then his hand were in her hair and his lips were crushing into hers and she could taste copper. Air...air… she needed air, she needed to scream. Where was Pyrrha? Yang? He pulled away for a moment and Blake gathered all of her courage to spit in his face.

Then she was stumbling, flying through the air until she connected with the bookshelf and all of the air left her body. She was gasping on the floor when his boot connected with her ribs. Blake struggled in vain to protect herself from his flurry of kicks. He was shouting something, but Blake couldn’t understand what he was saying. Her head was swimming and sore from being grabbed. It was getting harder to breathe. Why? Her throat; he was dragging her up the stairs by the throat. The world was going hazy and then blissfully black as she felt her body go limp into her bed.

  
  


“C’mon Yang! Dance with me!” Neon Katt playfully tugged on Yang’s sleeve. “I had Flynt put all the best songs in his set tonight!”

Yang allowed Neon to pull her on to the dance floor for a few minutes before working their way back towards the bar.

“What’s on your mind Yang? You seem super distracted.”

Yang smiled into her drink, “So, there’s this girl...”

“Ooooh! Spill!”

“Her name is Blake and she owns the bookstore next to my cafe. She’s the most phenomenally gorgeous person and so smart.” Yang sent her drink down and pushed it back towards the bartender for a refresh. “She’s been through a lot and I really admire her.”

Yang took another sip of her drink and frowned. She had put down a whiskey but picked up a Strawberry Sunrise. She looked across the bar to see the old bartender from her mother’s front. Had he been there all night?

“Little Miss, you need to go home now.”

“Yang, who is this guy?”

The bartender ignored Neon. “Little Miss, the Boss has done what she can, but you have to go home. By the time the police get there, it might be too late.”

The music in the club faded until all Yang could hear was the blood rushing through her ears. “Neon, I have to go.”

“Wait?! What’s going on?!”

“I’ll text you in the morning. I… I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

Neon whirled around to question the bartender further, but the old man had vanished and when she looked back at Yang, she was gone too.

  
  


Blake rubbed her wrists together. Something was scratching them. And there was that smell; acrid, woody…

“Welcome back, my darling.”

Blake snapped back to reality. Adam was sitting on her bed, watching her. She was tied to her desk chair with her dress and bra pulled down. There was something sticky between her thighs. And what was that smell?

“Fuck you.” Her mouth was too dry to spit at him again.

“Now now darling,” he crossed to her and took hold of her chin, pulling it up to force her to kiss him. “I told you once that nobody could have you but me. Today, I’m following through on that promise. This way we can be together forever.”

The realization hit Blake like a bolt. She was smelling smoke. Her home was on fire. She was going to die here. Unless…

“No!” Blake pulled one of her legs up to kick Adam away from her and she frantically pulled and twisted the rope, trying to find a weakness in the knots. “Its not my fault! Nothing you ever did to me was my fault! I came here and I found friends and a job I love and love… I have done more in the last five years than you’ve done in your lifetime. The only thing ending here is you!”

“Shut up bitch!” Adam was coming back towards her, raising his hand to strike her. The blow never came.

“You will never touch her again.”

Yang was wreathed in fire, holding Adam’s wrist in a vice grip. He reached across with his free hand, grabbed above her elbow and wrenched. Yang’s scream of anguish made Blake fight harder against her bonds.

Yang’s vision was hazy red with pain. Her right arm felt limp and useless, but she grabbed a fistful of Adam’s coat with the left. Taking advantage of his moment of surprise, she charged forward until she felt his feet come off the floor and he was flying through the air. The old window was already weakened by the intense heat and it exploded outward with Adam’s weight until he landed in the street with a thud.

Yang turned back to Blake who had finally freed herself and rushed over. “Yang, you’re hurt!”

“It’ll be ok! We have to get out of here! The fire escape is in the kitchen!”

The heat and smoke were increasing rapidly as they tried to make their way into the hall and the way to the kitchen was a wall of flame.

“No! We have to go downstairs!” Yang wrapped her good arm around Blake pulled her towards the stairs.

Blake tried to say something, but her words came out in a hacking cough. _I have to get her out of the smoke._ As they went past the counter, Yang could see flashing lights on the other side of the windows. She felt Blake slowly going limper as they crawled towards the door. _C’mon Blake… just a little bit farther._ Using the last of her strength, Yang stood up so she could kick the door once, twice until it fell.

The blast of fresh air as she dragged Blake out of the store sent a new blast of pain down her arm. Yang fell to her knees, dimly aware that Winter Schee was racing over to her and that Ruby was being held back from climbing the police barriers. She cradled Blake to her chest.

“Its going to be ok. I’m never going to let him hurt you again.” Yang felt the darkness rising around her and blissfully surrendered to the nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me! There's one more chapter on the way and I have a new project. Join me at rwbyrwnd.blogspot.com for a rewatch blog of RWBY if that's your cup of tea!


	7. Chapter 7

_The sun was so bright and warm on her face that even with her glasses Yang needed her hand to block the glare. She was home in Patch on a trail she hadn’t hiked in years. She continued farther down the path, drawn by something she didn’t understand. Where did this go again? She stopped when she reached the edge of the lake and there was a figure there in a wide brimmed hat and a sundress._

_“Blake?” It was Blake and she turned with her arms open to embrace Yang._ _Yang tried to reciprocate, but there was something holding her back._

_“Yang?” Blake’s voice was so far away now…_

_“Blake?!”_

“Yang, I’m right here. Take your time waking up; you’re on some intense meds.”

_Meds?_ Yang tried to blink, but her eyelids were too heavy. And there was that bright light in her face…

“Light...” she whispered. There was a strange clanking sound and the light went away. She wasn’t at the lake. She wasn’t even in Patch. The room was very neat and white, just like a… “Hospital?”

“Yes Yang, you’re in the hospital. You’re going to be ok.”

Turning her head was a herculean effort, but Yang was rewarded with the angelic sight of Blake (was that Blake? Her hair…?) sitting by her bedside.

“Blake? Your… hair?”

“Oh!” Blake’s giggle sent a flutter through Yang’s chest. “It smelled so much like smoke that Coco came and cut it for me. Do you like it?”

“Pretty...” Yang wanted to stay awake but she could barely keep her eyes open.

“Its ok Yang. You need your rest. I’ll come back tomorrow.” Blake watched as Yang fell back asleep. She was grateful that Yang hadn’t noticed the metal halo around her right elbow. She pressed the call button in her lap and Velvet answered.

“How was she?” Velvet asked as she wheeled Blake and her IV pole up the hall to her room.

“She was really drowsy, but she recognized me and that she was in the hospital. She didn’t seem to notice her arm.”

“Good! Hopefully when we redo her x-rays in a few days, we’ll see enough bone starting to fuse that she can go back to surgery to get her pins trimmed and the brace taken off.”

“Do you think she’ll...”

“There’s no way to know until she can start therapy, but I’m going to be hopeful.”

“Thank you Velvet.” Blake slipped back into her bed as Velvet fixed the setting on the tank by Blake’s bed.

“An hour with your mask this afternoon and back down to the hyperbaric chamber tomorrow. Your lungs are healing really nicely and hopefully next week’s scan will be clear of infection.”

Blake settled back in with her book and reminded herself to take deep breaths as the medicine flowed into her lungs.

  
  


The next morning, Blake took a shower and put on a fresh sweater. Weiss had donated some of her clothes so that Blake could have something more comfortable than a hospital gown. She was about to press the call button and see if she could go see Yang when there was a knock at her door.

“Hello?” Blake was hesitant. Weiss and Ruby had said they were visiting in the afternoon, so it was much too early for them.

“Good morning!” Pyrrha poked her head in the door. “Is this a good time?”

“Sure,” Blake eased herself into her wheelchair.

Pyrrha put her briefcase on the table and sat down as Blake wheeled herself over.

“How are you doing?” Only Pyrrha could ask a mundane question in a way that made you feel like she really cared about the answer.

“I’m getting better. Breathing is a lot easier and Velvet sends me down to Physical Therapy to walk around their track almost every day. I’m not healed enough to do anything strenuous yet, but moving around feels better. I just want to go home, but Weiss said that Shadowcat is basically gutted. And Yang isn’t really awake yet. And I’ve been dealing with the insurance people. I mean, Weiss says I can stay with her, but its not home. Its not with...” Blake stared down at her lap.

Pyrrha put a warm hand on Blake’s clenched fists. “I do have some good news for you. He took the plea deal. He’s going to prison for a very long time.”

A wave of relief washed over Blake and Pyrrha pulled her into a hug as she cried. When Blake caught her breath and dried her eyes, Pyrrha continued, “Would you like to give a victim impact statement for the court? You can write it down or we can record it so you don’t have to go see him at the sentencing next month.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Yes, of course. There’s no rush and if its too much for you, don’t worry about it.”

There was a gentle knock at the door and Velvet’s sweet voice asked, “Can we come in?”

“We?” wondered Blake before all of her words stopped in her heart.

Velvet entered the room pushing a very much awake Yang, her broken arm propped away from her body and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Blake wanted to leap into Yang’s arms and cover her face in kisses, but she settled for walking over, holding Yang’s good hand and gently touching her forehead to Yang’s.

“Hey you,” Yang’s voice was still soft from sleep. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Did I tell you how cute your hair is? Because I think you were there when I was sleeping.”

Blake smiled, “You did.”

Velvet had turned on the light box and was arranging some x-ray films so she could look at them. “I know I said I thought we would need a few more days until we could wake Yang up and look at her arm again, but she was pretty much awake this morning when I came in to check her vitals and the radiographer had an opening. So! This was your elbow a week ago!”

It didn’t really look like a joint with bone fragments all around where they should be.

“And right after surgery!”

This one was a bit better. There were long metal pins running through the bones and it looked like the fragments were closer to where they should be.

“The surgeon told me that he was all ready to give you a full replacement, but he felt that with your break being contained to just the joint and the blood flow wasn’t compromised, the bones could be put back together, which leads us to today!”

Velvet put the last slide up with a flourish and pulled the radiographer’s notes out of her folder and read: “Miss Xiao Long shows remarkable recovery in such a short time period. As hoped her bones are regrowing around the stabilizing pins correctly. After further testing on her blood flow and nerve response, we can recommend that she returns to surgery to have the pins trimmed to an acceptable internal length and begin physical therapy.”

“Congratulations Yang!” Pyrrha had collected her briefcase. “I need to head back to the station, but Blake, give me a call when you decide.”

“I will.”

Velvet was putting the slides and papers back in her folder. “I’ll have the doctors come evaluate you tomorrow and hopefully we can get your surgery done soon. But after that, would you two like to room together? Blake is almost out of the woods as far as infection and Yang is much more lively so I think it would be good for your morale.”

“YES!”

Velvet pretended to be bowled over by the unison answer. “Good, I’ll get that organized for you! Yang, you can stay here for the afternoon and I’ll be back to get you when visiting hours are over.”

The door clicked shut behind her and Blake dared to slide fully into Yang’s lap and wrap her arms around her neck. Blake buried her face in Yang’s hair and whispered in her ear.

“Pyrrha told me that he took a plea deal. He’s going away to prison for a very long time.”

“She told me yesterday that he had lived. I was hoping I had thrown him out of that window hard enough, but I guess that’s going to be good enough.”

“I wouldn’t want you to have killed anyone, Yang...”

“I know,” Yang rubbed Blake’s back, “I’m just glad he can never hurt you again.”

The door squeaked open. “Yang? Velvet told us you were here?”

“C’mon in sis!”

Ruby bounded into the room with Weiss in her wake.

“Hi Blake! I brought the books that you asked for!” Ruby hauled a heavy looking tote bag on to the table. “How are you guys?”

“I’m having surgery again soon to trim my pins down and then were moving in together!”

“Oh?” Weiss looked both confused and delighted.

“She means that we’re going to share a hospital room.”

“Well...” Weiss picked her words carefully. “Do you think you might like to do that when you leave the hospital?”

Both Blake and Yang flared a shade of red brighter than Ruby’s hoodie.

“I mean... ahh...well...if you wanted to... I’d be ok with that,” they both stumbled over their words.

“You do want to go back to work right?” Ruby was hanging on to the edge of her chair with excitement.

“But the bookstore is basically gone and I don’t know about the cafe...” Blake trailed off.

“The cafe has smoke and water damage mostly! But!” Ruby was cut off by Weiss raising her hand.

“Blake,” Weiss was as serene was always, “If it can be fixed, do you want it fixed?”

Blake took a deep breath. _My books, my home, all the people I’ve met and all of Yang’s customers…_ “Yes, I want my store back.” _I want my life back._

Ruby shot up from her chair and out of the room like a rocket. “Gottamakeaphonecallberightback!”

Velvet’s voice filtered in from the hall, “No running!”

Yang shook herhead and laughed, “That’s my Ruby. I bet she’s keeping you busy.”

Weiss smiled, “She’s certainly something.”

A wave of suspicion rose up Blake’s back, “Weiss, what are you actually up to?”

“I wouldn’t be too worried about that.” Weiss rummaged around in her bag. “Here, I brought you the cell phone you wanted. We got lucky that you left your old one in the office and Mr. Poledina was able to get the sim card out of it, so you should have all your numbers and such.”

“Thank you Weiss. I’m sorry to make you run around town for me, but its been a big help to have someone who can deal with the insurance and everything.”

“Don’t worry about that. Just focus on getting better.” Weiss stood to leave. “You’ve got a big team on your side.”

Later that night, Blake scrolled through her phone and found a number she hadn’t called in a long time. She steeled herself listening to the phone ring and a familiar voice answered.

“Good evening, Belladonna residence!”

“H-hi Mom. Its me.”

  
  


Several days later, Blake was anxiously making and remaking the second bed that had been rolled into her room. Yang’s surgery had been scheduled for first thing that morning and she should be coming out of recovery at anytime.

“Knock, knock,” Velvet wheeled in a groggy Yang and helped her into her new bed. “She’s still pretty sleepy from the anesthesia and I just gave her a good dose of pain meds, so she might be a little loopy for the rest of the day. I’m right down the hall if you need anything and I’ll bring you a pitcher of ice chips if she’s thirsty. Do not let her try to put any weight on her arm.”

Velvet left and Yang groaned and opened her eyes, “Hey Blake, how do you get more beautiful every time I see you? Like a movie star.”

Blake laughed as she tucked Yang into bed. “I’m not that pretty.”

“No seriously, you’re so beautiful. I should, like, marry you or something. I want a smart, pretty wife. You’re smart and pretty. You can be a wife.”

“Oh, what am I now? A wife or a movie star?”

“Both. My wife and my movie star.”

“Velvet must have given you too many painkillers.”

“No,” Yang was slurring her words even more as she fell back asleep, “I know what I’m saying. I wanna marry you.”

Blake settled in with her book by the window as Yang slept. _Maybe I will._

  
  


Yang was much more coherent the next day, but Blake couldn’t make eye contact with her without remembering her drug hazed conversation from the day before.

“Yang do you remember what you told me yesterday?”

“Yup! The whole thing!”

“So you weren’t lying when you said you wanted to...”

“BLAKE! MY BABY!”

Blake only had a moment before her mother almost knocked her out of her chair. She was followed by the largest man Yang had ever seen carrying an equally massive bouquet of flowers. While his wife was thoroughly distracted kissing and fussing over Blake, he offered a hand to Yang.

“Hello, I’m Ghira Belladonna and this is my wife Kali. You must be the Yang she told us all about.”

This caught Kali’s attention and she practically sprung onto Yang’s bed. “The Yang!” she wrapped her arms around Yang’s head and squeezed Yang to her chest. “I’m so thankful to you for taking such good care of my baby girl.”

Ghira placed the flowers in Blake’s arms and kissed her forehead. “I’m so happy to see you again sweetheart.” He turned back to his wife, “Kali, honey, please don’t strangle the poor girl. They’ve been through enough already.”

“Ok,” Kali sounded disappointed as she stepped down from Yang’s bed. “I hope we aren’t too off putting.” She went to stand by Blake and stroke her hair.

Now that Yang could see both of them, Blake was a younger version of her mother, but her personality had definitely come from her dad. “It’s ok,” Yang smiled, “My family is pretty interesting in their own way.”

The door handle jiggled and they all turned to see Raven, who had been trying to step in quietly and had not been expecting that many people in the room.

“Hi Mom!” Yang waved.

“You’re Yang’s mom!?,” Kali had crossed the room, grabbed Raven’s hands and dragged her into the room. “You must hear this all the time, but Yang is such a lovely girl! You did such a wonderful job raising her!”

“Well, thank you.” It wasn’t Raven who responded, but Summer Rose. To Blake, Summer was a older copy of Ruby but Raven only resembled Yang in their expression.

“Yang has two moms!?” Kali grabbed Summer and pulled her into the room too.

“We helped too!” Taiyang and Qrow followed Summer into the room.

“And two dads!?”

“Sort of,” Qrow threw his arms over Raven and Summer’s shoulders and, “My sister here had Yang with Taiyang, but ah… had business here in Vale so she left the baby with him. And then Summer and Taiyang found out that Ruby was on the way and I thought they needed a hand, so we are just one big, happy family. Right ladies?” Qrow’s smile was becoming more fixed as he squeezed them both tighter.

“Of course, Qrow.” Summer was serene as she disentangled herself from both Kali and Qrow and went over to Yang’s bed. She kissed Yang on the forehead and sat down holding her hand. “Yang, honey, you know I’ll always love you. But I taught you to aim for the center of mass and not the extremities in a fight.”

Yang rolled her eyes, “I know… Fanny on the floor before fist in the face...”

“That’s right, now let me see your arm.”

Taiyang came over to talk to Blake and Ghira. The two men shook hands and Ghira clapped Taiyang on the shoulder. “So fiesty women run in your family too?”

Taiyang laughed, “I’m much better at the theory but I’d be terrified of meeting Summer or Raven in a dark alley.” He turned to Blake and smiled, “Thank you for taking care of my wayward daughter. I know she can be pretty intense; she gets it from her mothers.”

Blake smiled back, “I can manage. She has a good heart.”

“That she gets from me.”

  
  


Ruby, Weiss and Winter arrived an hour later to Taiyang, Ghira and Blake having a calm discussion of books, Summer and Yang going over Yang’s therapy goals and Kali had just pulled out a beribboned album titled “Blake: Year Two” much to Qrow’s delight and Raven’s horror.

“Mom!” Ruby dashed across to hug Summer.

“You.” Winter locked eyes with Raven.

“Wonderful, you’ve already met!” Kali was either oblivious to the tension between Raven and Winter or actively ignoring it as she pulled Winter into their group. “I was just about to tell them all about Blake’s first tooth!”

Weiss slid over to Blake. “Here,” she handed Blake a small but heavy box. “This is for you but you can’t open it just yet. You can tell Yang about it though.”

Blake looked over at Yang who was furiously whispering to Summer and Ruby, who was growing redder by the second. “When do we get to open it?”

“You’ll find the right moment. And I wouldn’t worry about Winter and Raven. My sister has a big bark, but Raven’s too careful to give her enough to work with.”

Ghira dropped his voice conspiratorially, “Blake, are you dating the daughter of a mob boss?”

It was Taiyang’s turn to clap Ghira on the back, “Not quite, more of a wealth redistributor who keeps an eye on the little guy.”

Ghira smiled, “Blake, if you’re happy, I guess I have nothing to worry about!”

“I’m very happy.”

Ghira leaned to whisper in her ear, “I know, I haven’t seen you smile like that in years.”

  
  


Blake was still smiling as she curled up next to Yang that night. They had pushed the two hospital beds together so they could sleep together.

“You never answered my question this morning. If you meant what you said…” Blake began but Yang had already fallen asleep so Blake rested her head on Yang’s chest and let Yang’s heartbeat lull her to sleep.

  
  


The next three weeks were a blur of activity for Yang as she went to therapy daily, but she cherished the quiet moments she got to spend with Blake in the evenings after everyone had gone home. The night before they were scheduled to be discharged, Blake was brushing Yang’s hair before bed. Putting down the brush Blake ran her nails over Yang’s scalp to feel her shiver.

Yang pressed her head back into Blake, “You know I’m just about healed up enough to give you a real spanking.”

Blake leaned down to kiss Yang, “When we get home.”

“You’re still going to go stay with Weiss? You know you could come stay with Ruby and me.”

“I know, but I still have a lot of things to figure out with the insurance and you two need to get up really early. I’d just be in the way.”

“You wouldn’t be. But would you come stay with me once my place gets fixed?”

“You’ve asked me that almost every day and the answer is still yes.”

“I just like hearing you say it.”

Blake smiled and stifled a yawn, “We should get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow. I’m curious to see what’s in the box Weiss gave us.”

“If I get to be the big spoon!”

As comforting as holding Blake was, Yang couldn't sleep. She rolled over and rummaged around in her packed bag of clothes. The little box was right where she had hidden it and she opened it again to watch the stones glint in the light from outside. Amethyst wasn’t traditional, but it was the ring Taiyang had given Raven when Yang was born and it had just been sitting where she had left it when she went back to Vale. Summer had sent it with her, Qrow and Taiyang’s blessing, Raven hadn’t objected and Ghira had said he would keep it a secret from Kali. Now she just needed a moment to give it to Blake. _Tomorrow or when she moves in. I’ll wait as long as she needs._ Yang felt her eyes going heavy, so she stowed the ring away and wrapped herself back around Blake’s warm body and let sleep take her.

  
  


“Let me make myself very clear Miss Xiao Long, you should not be riding a motorcycle at all. If you fall and hurt your arm again, you will most likely wake up without it.” Velvet stared daggers at Yang as she passed out their discharge instructions.

Yang sheepishly smiled and allowed herself to settle into the wheelchair so Ruby could push her out to Winter’s car. Blake squeezed her hand in the back seat. She didn’t want to see Shadowcat a burnt husk of its former self. But as they turned onto the correct street, Blake was surprised to see many of her former customers lining the streets. All of the other stores had massive signs in the windows. “Get well soon Blake!” Welcome back Yang!” Blake turned to Yang to ask why everyone was making such a fuss, but then Yang was pulling her out of the car and she could see why.

It was glorious. Big, bright windows looked into a fully stocked bookstore. The wall between the two stores was gone and the cafe seating extended into the books. The sign had been expanded to read “Shadowcat Books and Golden Dragon Coffee.” They both stood there staring up at it in awe.

“Do you like it?” Blake recognized the woman from the picture on Dr. Ren’s desk; his wife Nora. “I really wanted to lighten the whole space up and make it easy for people to look for books.”

“Which I,” Coco Adel was leaning on the stair railing, “designed the shelves for and made sure they matched with the cafe seating. And Jaune’s class assured me that the furniture in the children’s section is perfect for story time.”

“But how,” were the only words Yang could get out.

Ruby looked like she was about to burst, “We had to! We knew how much this meant to both of you. And Yang, you’ve had that sign sitting in the basement since we opened, so I just had to update it.”

“The insurance...” Blake stammered.

Raven would deny to the end of her days that she had been the least bit misty eyed as she told Blake, “Don’t worry about it. Consider it a gift.”

“You should open your gift now.” Even Weiss was starting to wipe at her eyes.

Blake fumbled with her bag to get to the box. “Its keys, Yang. Two copies of the keys.”

“Just say the word when you’re all set to open and we’ll be here. But I think you want to see the upstairs first.” Winter had gotten the rest of the begs from the trunk of the car.

Blake’s hands were shaking as she turned the key and Yang helped her push open the door. It was just as perfect on the inside, smelling of warm cookies and old books. They clung to each other in surprise and awe as they walked to the back of the store where Yang’s stairs had been. Yang’s old apartment had been slightly expanded to give them a second bedroom and more living space.

Weiss and Ruby had followed them up, “We couldn’t save most of Blake’s old apartment, but we think this will be just right for both of you.”

“Thank you Ruby, do you think you could give us a moment to settle in?”

Weiss caught Yang’s drift immediately, “Yes, c’mon Ruby. We should be getting going. We’ll lock up on the way out.”

Yang wrapped Blake in a tight hug, “I can’t believe it. I really can’t. All this? For us?”

“I know, it feels like too much. But we’re back home and its beautiful… And I want to go get ready to open back up… Its almost like nothing happened. And you’re here with me.”

Yang took a deep breath and in one motion, reached into her pocket for the ring box and dropped to one knee. Opening the box, she looked up into Blake’s stunned face and said, “Blake Belladonna, I love you more than anyone else in the world. I know we’ve had a wild ride in the past few months, but I want to stay on this journey forever. And I meant what I said; I want you to be my beautiful, smart wife. Blake, will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes,” where the only words Blake could get out before she started crying. Yang stood to hold her and between them they were able to slide the ring onto Blake’s finger. Blake’s heart felt light as she held Yang tightly. She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me! I appreciate all of your feedback and its really kept me going. I'm open to any prompts you may have for my next fic. The world's pretty awful right now, but at least we have our Bees.


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